Rating: Real Madrid vs Athletic Club
Real Madrid
LINE UP (4-3-3)
1.
K. Navas
Was beaten from close range by Sabin after being let down by his defenders but impressed from then onwards and pulled off a series of good saves, particularly late on when he denied Williams from close range.
2.
Daniel Carvajal
Performed well down the right flank, where he often got himself into good positions and was impressive with his crosses into the penalty area.
12.
Marcelo
Looked bright over on the left wing, where he was allowed to camp himself inside the Athletic half of the pitch and often made life tough for the visitors’ back line.
3.
Pepe
The centre-back didn’t look entirely comfortable at the back, and he was too lax when trying to deal with a loose ball in the build-up to Athletic’s equaliser.
5.
R. Varane
Didn’t cover himself in glory in the build-up to Athletic’s only goal of the game, but he improved after that before a poor mistake late on almost gifted Williams with a goal.
16.
M. Kovačić
Put in one of his best performances of the season. Looked full of purpose and desire and was excellent with his passing in advanced positions.
8.
T. Kroos
Performed brilliantly at the base of the Madrid midfield, where he constantly impressed with his passing and was one of the home side's better players.
22.
Isco
Looked bright whenever he was on the ball and sprayed several excellent passes all over the pitch during what was one of his best performances in a Madrid shirt, but he was surprisingly hooked for Vazquez with half an hour left to play.
7.
Cristiano Ronaldo
It was a frustrating night for the Portuguese, who wasn’t as effective as his normally is in advanced positions and failed to take advantage of the few chances that fell his way, as was the case late on when he fired a close-range shot straight into the body of Iraizoz.
11.
G. Bale
Always looked impressive all over the final third of the pitch, and it was his wonderful curling cross that set up Morata for Madrid's winner.
9.
K. Benzema
Made a nuisance of himself inside the Athletic penalty area with his strength and power, and he did well to link up with Isco before firing in Madrid's first goal of the game.
SUBSTITUTES
21.
Álvaro Morata
Replaced Benzema and was excellent from then onwards as he hassled the Athletic back line and was finally rewarded for his efforts with a late goal.
17.
Lucas Vázquez
Made an important difference after coming off the substitutes' bench as he always looked to push forward with purpose.
Athletic Club
LINE UP (4-5-1)
1.
Iraizoz
Could do little about Madrid’s opener and performed well from then onwards, and he unlucky to concede again late on after doing well to save Morata’s first effort on goal.
25.
Saborit
It wasn’t the most comfortable of nights for the left-back, who had a few good moments when pushing forward but struggled defensively and was incredibly poor when trying to deal with Isco in the build-up to Madrid’s opening goal.
16.
Etxeita
Arguably Athletic’s best defender. Almost seemed to be in the right place at the right time and put in a consistently good performance in the middle of the back line.
6.
San José
Performed well in the middle of the pitch, when he dropped back to defend resolutely when needed and impressed in possession at the other end.
15.
Lekue
Was electric on the break, and it was his marauding run down the right wing that helped Athletic fire in an equaliser. But at the other end he struggled defensively, especially as he began to tire in the second half.
4.
A. Laporte
It was a mixed night for the Frenchman, who made a few important blocks but was sometimes guilty of failing to track runners.
5.
Eraso
Showed good determination in the build-up to Athletic’s only goal, but either side of that he was pegged back and unable to find much joy going forward.
22.
Raúl García
Put in a good shift at either end of the pitch, as he was always willing to drop back to defend when required to do so whilst at the other end of the pitch he was impressive with his passing.
17.
Mikel Rico
Like San Jose, the midfielder put in a good shift in front of the Athletic defence to consistently frustrate Madrid’s front line on what was a tough night for them.
19.
Sabin
The stand-in striker saw very little of the ball due to Madrid’s dominance of possession, but he was in the right place at the right time to fire in an equaliser for his side.
11.
Iñaki Williams
The youngster made a nuisance of himself in front of goal, but he was presented with two great opportunities to score and failed to take advantage of either.
SUBSTITUTES
8.
Iturraspe
Replaced Garcia for the final quarter of an hour and was forced into mainly defending, which he largely did well.
14.
Susaeta
Came on for the final 12 minutes. Was unable to find much joy going forward but put in a relatively good shift defensively.
10.
Muniain
Featured late on as Athletic tried to find a way back into the game but he was unable to make much of an impact as Madrid held on to possession.
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